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2019 GMC Sierra carbon fiber bed: How it's made

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The redesigned 2019 GMC Sierra has some pretty nifty features, and the one that has had the most attention is the MultiPro flipping and folding tailgate. But the Sierra also features the first-of-its-kind carbon fiber truck bed. It's interesting, of course, for its capabilities, such as being 62 pounds lighter than the all-steel box. It even adds more cargo volume since the material can be assembled and shaped differently from steel. As it turns out, the assembly process is cool, too, which we learned when GMC invited us to see the beds being made. Every GMC carbon fiber bed starts out as perfectly flat sheets of thermoplastic carbon fiber. The sheets consist of a mix of fibers and resins, a bit like the molded carbon fiber parts Lamborghini uses. The sheets are manufactured by Japanese company Teijin, which collaborated with GMC to develop the bed. They're all delivered to Continental Structural Plastics (CSP) in Fort Wayne, Ind., for construction into the actual bed. The company, a subsidiary of Teijin, makes a wide variety of composite and plastic parts for the car industry, including body panels for the C7 Chevy Corvette. The rectangular sheets are cut to shape and stacked up at a giant stamping press. Robots pick up sheets and slide them onto a conveyor that goes into a large oven. The heat softens the parts so they can be stamped. The large primary bed parts such as the base are stamped by CSP's enormous 3,600-ton press, and the smaller ones go through a 1,000-ton press. Each press can do different parts using different stamping dies, and CSP switches between dies to produce different batches of parts. After stamping, the parts roll out mostly ready for assembly, but there are rough edges that are trimmed off by water-jet cutters. These cutting machines also create holes for fasteners and for parts such as tie-down hooks and lights. The stamping process also provides the carbon fiber bed with a unique Easter egg. On the bottom of the base of the bed, there are two words: "Connors Way." This is a tribute to Tim Connors, who was the chief engineer of manufacturing at GM and a strong proponent of the carbon fiber bed. He was tragically killed in a motorcycle crash a few years ago. The words were added to honor him, and they were fortunately approved for production. There are some components to the bed that aren't stamped from the flat sheets of material.

New Takata problem results in recall of 414 GM vehicles

An airbag-inflator rupture discovered by Takata during testing has resulted in a new recall affecting 414 vehicles from General Motors, including 395 of them in the US. This latest campaign covers 2015 model-year examples of the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Camaro, Equinox, Malibu, and GMC Terrain. There are no reported breaks in any of these vehicles on the road, and the company estimates only one percent of them actually have the faulty parts. According to documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (as a PDF), one side-airbag inflator failed a cold test at -40 Fahrenheit "releasing high pressure gas and propelling the separated components apart." The supplier told GM about the failure the next day. In these vehicles, the safety device might not only burst but the bag could inflate incorrectly, as well. GM and Takata say that a cause is not yet known, but they are "conducting an investigation." GM will begin notifying affected owners via overnight mail on Oct. 19. Dealers will replace the side airbag modules on all of the affected vehicles with new components outside of the suspect lot. All of the removed parts will also be collected for further study. Takata's faulty front airbag inflators have resulted in a serious scandal for the supplier. Initial figures indicated 34 million US vehicles are need of repair, though more recent figures have knocked that down to 23.4 million bad parts in 19.2 million automobiles. GM was already among the dozen automakers with models to fix, and some of its pickups were affected, along with the Saab 9-2X and Pontiac Vibe. GM Statement: General Motors is recalling 395 cars and crossovers in the U.S. because one of the front seat side air bags inflators may be defective. In the event of a deployment, the air bag's inflator may rupture and the air bag may not properly inflate. The rupture could cause metal fragments to strike the vehicle occupants, potentially resulting in serious injury or death. GM is unaware of any incidents involving vehicles with these components, which were part of a lot in which one inflator failed acceptance testing at the supplier. Dealers will replace the side air bag module or modules in affected vehicles. Including Canada, Mexico and exports, the total population of the recall is 414, GM estimates 1 percent of the recalled vehicles may have the defect.

2019 GMC Sierra Denali First Drive Review | The more things change...

ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland — Canadians love their GMCs. Both anecdotal and statistical evidence supports this. In certain areas of Canada, the Sierra outsells the Chevy Silverado. But in this area of Canada, Cape Spear, the morning fog and salt air are thick. This is the most eastern point in Canada, and the most eastern point of North America if you don't count Greenland. We woke up early and drove to the coast in the new 2019 GMC Sierra Denali, hoping to catch what was promised to be an absolutely spectacular sunrise. The sunrise was a no-go thanks to the fog, turning the sky into a grey mist that melted into the Atlantic. Still, if the world had an edge, this is what it would look like. Driving in an inspiring place like this invites introspection, and since we're in an GMC Sierra, why not examine the brand's place in the world? Recall that for years, a GMC showroom was just packed with slightly more expensive versions of other GM products. Badge engineering, if you will – a dirty word in our business, applied to such notable machines as the Cadillac Cimarron, Buick Terraza, Chevy Aveo and Saab 9-7X. Things, at least on the surface, seem to be changing. GMC says it's making a concerted effort to differentiate its product portfolio from the rest of GM, but the results have been mixed. The brands were supposed to have less product crossover. There's no GMC version of the Chevy Traverse and, initially, there was no Chevy equivalent of the GMC Acadia, though the new Blazer kills that advantage. The Equinox and Terrain are still basically the same vehicle, as are the new 2019 Silverado and 2019 Sierra. At least the two trucks look decidedly different. There's still a family resemblance, but most of the bodywork has been changed. Where the 2019 Silverado adopted some curves, the Sierra stuck with straight lines. Compare things like the headlights, wheel wells and doors. The Sierra still has a massive grille and — aside from the AT4 off-road trim — packs on as much chrome as a 1958 Cadillac, but that's what customers want these days. The Ford F-150 and Ram 1500 are no different in this regard, packing lots of chrome, hard edges, and frontal areas that would give passenger trains a run for their money. At first glance, you'd be hard pressed to tell the Sierra and Silverado's interiors apart from both each other and the outgoing models. It's basically the same design, though the Sierra makes do with some slightly nicer materials.